Vol.# 85
Life in Cambodia:
I sit between two fans trying to get relief
from the heat in my living room/study area. You would think it would be cooler
at 6:23 at night, but, alas, no breeze!
I had to close the door due to my good
friends, the mosquitoes, which love to come and visit me! Unfortunately, even
drenched in repellent, I am still bitten!
I can hear the sounds of dinner being
prepared, the pounding of meat so that it can be ready to cook, and the dogs
are barking!
Language learning:
Yesterday was a discouraging day in class. We
had blanks to fill in with sentences, and then had a listening comprehension
class. I understood 10% and was able to do the sentences, but not as fast as
half of the class! I also had to make the hour and a bit tuk tuk ride to my
bank in the village in Bek Chan close to Rescue! However, I did not have the
time to go there, I was rushing from my morning classes to go and return!
Praise:
Even though it was a discouraging day, I
want to thank you for your prayers! I
am not sure how you prayed but the ‘hard’ day just made me more determined to
study!
So on the tuk tuk ride to Bek Chan, I had
my headphones on listening to the Khmer vocabulary pronunciation! My tuk tuk
driver kept thinking I was talking to him and kept turning around which really
was not safe! I had to stop to get a mask for the dust and smells that accelerated
as we moved from one area to the other!
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| Going to class outing |
The ride was a reminder of how HE took care
of me so many times when I made that journey! I kept thinking, how did I do it for over one year? For two
months I journeyed twice a day back and forth from Rescue! I could hear His
voice say, I will always give you what
you need when you obey me my child!
So, may I encourage you who are maybe
having a rough time leading up to Christmas?
Go to Him, lay down your burdens and read
His Word. He is just waiting for you to come to Him.
When I got back home after
the over two hour journey, I spent 3 hours writing the words on my wall and
listening to more texts and then saying some of the words and sending via WhatsUp
App to my two Khmer friends, Channak and Dong, to correct my pronunciation!
Prayer: My first major test is on the 18th! It is on
vocabulary recognition, conversation and answering questions in Khmer. The
tests are for two days and you have to sign up for your time. I decided to be
the first, so on the 18th my test is at 8:30 in the morning. I covet your
prayers not only on that day, but also from now as I study and engage others in
conversation! I have my extra tutorial session tomorrow so I will work on my
listening skills!
Prayer: I still do not
have a dining room table or couch. You have to really double think about how to
get things delivered and then up the narrow stairs or by pulley from the
street! Pray for wisdom as I
still have to make this room ‘more home-like!' I have A/C in my bedroom but I do
not want people congregating there. It is my ‘refuge’ in my ‘refuge!’
Many of you have asked to see my Christmas
tree so I am sending you a pic!
It was a lot of fun to see one of the Khmer couples
from my church put it up and begin to decorate! It is so much more fun to see
others having so much delight in doing something! They themselves cannot afford
a tree so my place will become the Christmas drop-in place!
The fans are still circulating hot air so I
am trying to negotiate for an A/C for this living/study/eating room! I had to
put a strip of rubber at the bottom of the door so the air would not escape,
but also to bring down the costs of using the A/C. One of my friends here spent
time in sticking the rubber with cement glue. Since the door is made of iron we
could not staple or nail the rubber to the door! I want to make sure I keep
costs down, so after a month or so I am getting a true idea of the cost of living
here!
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| Before: Gluing the rubber to keep air in |
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| After: Prayerfully will keep air in and costs down! |
Prison
Fellowship: Acting on excellent advice from one of my prayer
supporters, I looked into material already devised by PF from around the world.
However they are quite busy this month with the government meetings, so we will
meet again next month. I will be sending the Curriculum Director the links of
material that can be used!
My tuk tuk driver has been more talkative,
and yes, is still is on a mission to get me to school in 10 minutes or under!
The traffic is really very bad, so I never know which route he is going to take!
However, yesterday we had so many ‘close’ calls, I am very grateful that I pray
before we leave my place!
Keep sending me your pics of your
festivities!
I miss hearing the Christmas music and advent leading up to
Christmas! I think I miss having a television now. Besides listening to local
news, I can usually get CNN or BBC news! I will let you know what I am doing
for Christmas! There is talk of hunting down a turkey!
We will see what
happens!
My love to you all! I have to go and put on
more repellent and make dinner!
I am singing, “Oh, the weather outside is frightful….“
AH! MY Jesus chose to leave His kingly
place to come down for us, for you, for
me….
Love, His Warrior and Disciple,
submitting to be His dance partner here in Cambodia,
Your servant, Vidya
** (P.S. I am at 90 percent of my monthly support, would you consider
becoming one of my dance partners? Please email me!)
